Author: Primož Novak
Artist: Swallow The Sun
Label: Century Media
Release: year_month
Running time: CD 1: 59:16, CD 2: 42:33, CD 3: 51:57
Rating: 4/5
Finnish doom/death metal outfit Swallow the Sun wanted to make a real evolutionary leap in their career this time. Announcing a triple album is undoubtedly a bold move. Triple albums are pretty rare, and even then they’re usually live documents or compilations. That kind of thing only occurs to people who have a few too many ideas or simply can’t edit themselves. Frank Zappa is a good example, having split Joe’s Garage into three parts. But there aren’t many other cases like it, especially in the metal world.
With this triple album, Swallow the Sun define themselves through gloom, beauty and despair. Their recipe is served up here in its most stretched-out version yet. Guitarist and main songwriter Juha Raivio explains that music has turned into a fast-food industry these days. Everything is based on “loading” a single track, which is how people form an impression of an album, and the concept of the album as a format has gotten lost along the way, which is actually true. Music gets consumed like a McDonald’s burger or a Starbucks coffee. Given the current state of the album as a format, you have to admit that Swallow the Sun have achieved a lot with this release. Among other things, they even managed to convince a label like Century Media to put out this massive album all at once.
The album is split into three sensible parts, which are only loosely connected to each other:
Gloom
The first part of Songs From The North presents the band the way we know them best. It’s quite reminiscent of the albums that came after Hope (2007), the record that lifted them out of the underground and gave them wider recognition. It’s a more melodic brand of music, working with doom/death metal tricks and the occasional black metal touch. The vocals are dynamic, and the melodic vocals don’t sound mournful all the time. In the chorus of Rooms and Shadows, for example, the vocal is pleasant, even though the whole album is wrapped in a somewhat more melancholic mood. Every now and then you also hear some female vocals, which makes the variety in the singing all the more convincing. That builds up the atmosphere, which is largely defined by the keyboards anyway. The tempo isn’t typically slowed down either, with quite a bit of mid-tempo stuff, which gives the impression of even more variety. The first part will definitely suit those who already knew the band, and it could win over a new listener or two as well. It probably goes without saying that the first part is the most convincing of the album, and it’s the one listeners will spin the most.
Beauty
On the second part of this huge album, Swallow the Sun show their gentle side, which wasn’t there from the very beginning. It’s a more acoustic-tinged affair. Before this, the band had only shown their calmer, softer side with the odd track, like This Cut Is the Deepest on the previous record Emerald Forest and the Blackbird from 2012. The second part proves that the band has undoubtedly broadened their horizons, just like Opeth did with Damnation, Borknagar with Origin and so on. In short, the second part of Song From The North is above all easy on the ears, even though it has plenty of sorrowful moments. The songs are shorter and simpler too. The vocal is melodic throughout, and you occasionally hear additional female vocals adding an even more emotional dimension, something the keyboards help achieve as well. The second part is a pleasant breather after the punchier first part, and at the same time it’s preparation for the most morbid part of the album.
Despair
The third part of this massive album is undoubtedly a pretty tough listen. Everything is slowed down. Guitarist Juha Raivio said we can take Doomed to Walk the Earth from Hope (2007) as a reference point. The morbidity peaks with slow, heavy rhythms and repetitive riffs, typical of funeral doom metal. The keyboards are chilling, and the vocal is growling and deeper than in the first part. The band says this is the most extreme release of their career, and we really wouldn’t argue with that. Up to a point, the third part of Songs From The North is bearable, but toward the end it turns out the whole thing is a bit too long and needlessly drawn out, and a track or two could have been dropped. You can also feel the band overdoing it here, almost obsessed with making this release truly special, but it’s hard to talk about any real highlights, though the idea is undoubtedly interesting.
Swallow the Sun’s most sprawling album, running over two and a half hours, isn’t something you can wolf down like a McDonald’s burger. It’s more of a hearty Sunday dinner. With all three parts, the album shows that the band took a lot of risks and proved they have no limits. At the same time, they show off the sheer breadth of doom metal, which is so often the target of stereotyping. Whether it was all worth it is just a matter of time. Some albums need quite a while to leave an impression on the audience.
Line-up
Mikko Kotamäki – vocals
Juha Raivio – guitar
Markus Jämsen – guitar
Aleksi Munter – keyboards
Matti Honkonen – bass
Juuso Raatikainen – drums
Tracklist
CD 1:
1. With You Came the Whole of the World’s Tears
2. 10 Silver Bullets
3. Rooms and Shadows
4. Heartstrings Shattering
5. Silhouettes
6. The Memory of Light
7. Lost & Catatonic
8. From Happiness to Dust
CD 2:
1. The Womb of Winter
2. The Heart of a Cold White Land
3. Away
4. Pray for the Winds to Come
5. Songs from the North
6. 66°50´N,28°40´E
7. Autumn Fire
8. Before the Summer Dies
CD 3:
1. The Gathering of Black Moths
2. 7 Hours Late
3. Empires of Loneliness
4. Abandoned by the Light
5. The Clouds Prepare for Battle
